(A) (1) There is hereby created the Highland Hills Board of Tax Review which is designated and authorized to hear appeals as provided in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 718.
(2) The Highland Hills Board of Tax Review shall consist of three members appointed as follows:
Two members shall be appointed by Council, and may not be employees, elected officials, or contractors with the Municipality at any time during their term or in the five years immediately preceding the date of appointment. One member shall be appointed by the Mayor of the Municipality. This member may be an employee of the Municipality, but may not be the director of finance or equivalent officer, or the Tax Administrator or other similar official or an employee directly involved in municipal tax matters, or any direct subordinate thereof.
(3) The term for members of the Highland Hills Board of Tax Review appointed by Highland Hills Council shall be two years. There is no limit on the number of terms that a member may serve should the member be reappointed by the legislative authority. The board member appointed by the Mayor shall serve at the discretion of the Mayor.
(4) Members of the board of tax review appointed by Council may be removed by Council pursuant to procedures established in Section 718.11(A)(4) of the Revised Code.
(5) A member of the board of review who, for any reason, ceases to meet the qualifications for the position prescribed by this section shall resign immediately by operation of law.
(6) A vacancy in an unexpired term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment within sixty days of when the vacancy was created. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. No vacancy on the board shall impair the power and authority of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of the board.
(7) If a member is temporarily unable to serve on the board due to a conflict of interest, illness, absence, or similar reason, the Council or Mayor that appointed the member shall appoint another individual to temporarily serve on the board in the member's place. This appointment shall be subject to the same requirements and limitations as are applicable to the appointment of the member temporarily unable to serve.
(B) Whenever a Tax Administrator issues an assessment, the Tax Administrator shall notify the taxpayer in writing at the same time of the taxpayer's right to appeal the assessment, the manner in which the taxpayer may appeal the assessment, and the address to which the appeal should be directed, and to whom the appeal should be directed.
(C) Any person who has been issued an assessment may appeal the assessment to the board by filing a request with the board. The request shall be in writing, shall specify the reason or reasons why the assessment should be deemed incorrect or unlawful, and shall be filed within sixty days after the taxpayer receives the assessment.
(D) The Highland Hills Board of Tax Review shall schedule a hearing to be held within sixty days after receiving an appeal of an assessment under division (C) of this section, unless the taxpayer requests additional time to prepare or waives a hearing. If the taxpayer does not waive the hearing, the taxpayer may appear before the board and/or may be represented by an attorney at law, certified public accountant, or other representative. The board may allow a hearing to be continued as jointly agreed to by the parties. In such a case, the hearing must be completed within one hundred twenty days after the first day of the hearing unless the parties agree otherwise.
(E) The board may affirm, reverse, or modify the Tax Administrator's assessment or any part of that assessment. The board shall issue a final determination on the appeal within ninety days after the board's final hearing on the appeal, and send a copy of its final determination by ordinary mail to all of the parties to the appeal within fifteen days after issuing the final determination. The taxpayer or the Tax Administrator may appeal the board's final determination as provided in section 5717.011 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(F) The Highland Hills Board of Tax Review created pursuant to this section shall adopt rules governing its procedures, including a schedule of related costs, and shall keep a record of its transactions. The rules governing the Highland Hills Board of Tax Review procedures shall be in writing, and may be amended as needed by the Highland Hills Board of Tax Review. Such records are not public records available for inspection under section 149.43 of the Ohio Revised Code. For this reason, any documentation, copies of returns or reports, final determinations, or working papers for each case must be maintained in a secure location under the control of the Tax Administrator. No member of the Highland Hills Board of Tax Review may remove such documentation, copies of returns or reports, final determinations, or working papers from the hearing. Hearings requested by a taxpayer before the Highland Hills Board of Tax Review created pursuant to this section are not meetings of a public body subject to section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code. For this reason, such hearings shall not be open to the public, and only those parties to the case may be present during the hearing.
(Ord. 2015-54. Passed 12-9-15.)